THE  CALL 

OF  THE 

COUNTRY  PARISH 


Kenyon  L.  Butterfield 


THE  CALL 

OF  THE 

COUNTRY  PARISH 


Kenyon  L.  Butterfield 

President  of  the  Massachusetts  Agricultural 
College , Member  of  the  Commission 
on  Country  Life 


lUsigciciatton  Ikes# 


New  York:  124  East  28th  Street 
London:  47  Paternoster  Row,  E.C. 
1914 


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THE  CALL  OF  THE  COUNTRY 


PARISH* 


The  country-side  is  calling,  calling  for 
men.  Vexing  problems  of  labor  and  of 
life  disturb  our  minds  in  country  as  in 
city.  The  workers  of  the  land  are  striv- 
ing to  make  a better  use  of  their  re- 
sources of  soil  and  climate,  and  are 
seeking  both  larger  wealth  and  a higher 
welfare.  But  the  striving  and  the  seek- 
ing raise  new  questions  of  great  public 
concern.  Social  institutions  have  devel- 
oped to  meet  these  new  issues.  But  the 
great  need  of  the  present  is  leadership. 
Only  men  can  vitalize  institutions.  We 
need  leaders  among  the  farmers  them- 
selves, we  need  leaders  in  education, 
leaders  in  organization  and  co-operation. 
So  the  country  church  is  calling  for  men 
of  God  to  go  forth  to  war  against  all 
the  powers  of  evil  that  prey  upon  the 
hearts  of  the  men  who  live  upon  the 

* Reprinted,  by  permission,  from  “The  Country 
Church  and  the  Rural  Problem,”  copyright,  1911,  by 
the  University  of  Chicago. 


land,  as  well  as  upon  the  people  in  palace 
and  tenement. 

The  country  church  wants  men  of 
vision,  who  see  through  the  incidental, 
the  small,  the  transient,  to  the  funda- 
mental, the  large,  the  abiding  issues  that 
the  countryman  must  face  and  conquer. 

She  wants  practical  men,  who  seek  the 
mountain  top  by  the  obscure  and  steep 
paths  of  daily  toil  and  real  living,  men 
who  can  bring  things  to  pass,  secure 
tangible  results. 

She  wants  original  men,  who  can  enter 
a human  field  poorly  tilled,  much  grown 
to  brush,  some  of  it  of  diminished  fer- 
tility, and  by  new  methods  can  again 
secure  a harvest  that  will  gladden  the 
heart  of  the  great  Husbandman. 

She  wants  aggressive  men,  who  do  not 
hesitate  to  break  with  tradition,  who  fear 
God  more  than  prejudice,  who  regard 
institutions  as  but  a means  to  an  end, 
who  grow  frequent  crops  of  new  ideas 
and  dare  to  winnow  them  with  the  flails 
of  practical  trial. 

She  wants  trained  men,  who  come  to 
their  work  with  knowledge  and  with 
power,  who  have  thought  long  and 


deeply  upon  the  problems  of  rural  life, 
who  have  hammered  out  a plan  for  an 
active  campaign  for  the  rural  church. 

She  wants  men  with  enthusiasms, 
whose  energy  can  withstand  the  frosts 
of  sloth,  of  habit,  of  pettiness,  of  envy, 
of  back-biting,  and  whose  spirit  is  not 
quenched  by  the  waters  of  adversity,  of 
unrealized  hopes,  of  tottering  schemes. 

She  wants  persistent  men,  who  will 
stand  by  their  task  amid  the  mysterious 
calls  from  undiscovered  lands,  the  siren 
voices  of  ambition  and  ease,  the  wither- 
ing storms  of  winters  of  discontent. 

She  wants  constructive  men,  who  can 
transmute  visions  into  wood  and  stone, 
dreams  into  live  institutions,  hopes  into 
fruitage. 

She  wants  heroic  men,  men  who  pos- 
sess a “tart,  cathartic  virtue/’  men  who 
love  adventure  and  difficulty,  men  who 
can  work  alone  with  God  and  suffer  no 
sense  of  loneliness. 

The  Appeals  from  the  Rural  Parish 

This  call  from  the  country  parish  is 
one  that  may  well  give  pause  to  men  who 

5 

tv  43034 


seek  to  serve  their  country  and  mankind. 
There  are  numerous  and  powerful  ap- 
peals coming  up  from  the  tillers  of  the 
soil,  to  those  still  undecided  as  to  the 
life  task.  Let  us  name  some  of  these 
appeals : 

There  is  the  abiding  significance  of 
the  great  problem  of  agriculture  and 
country  life.  The  hungry  nations  are  to 
be  fed,  the  world’s  nakedness  is  to  be 
clothed,  God-given  fertility  is  to  be  con- 
served. The  forces  of  nature  are  to  be 
harnessed  by  science  and  driven  by 
trained  skill.  A fundamental  human 
industry  is  to  be  fostered,  an  industry 
that  supports  gigantic  railways,  huge 
manufactures,  immense  commercial  en- 
terprises, stupendous  financial  opera- 
tions. Scores  of  millions  of  American 
citizens  are  to  be  educated  for  life’s 
work,  their  political  intelligence  and 
integrity  are  to  be  developed,  their  con- 
ditions of  living  are  to  be  improved, 
their  virtue  is  to  be  guarded,  their  ideals 
are  to  be  enlarged.  These  people  are  to 
be  served  by  state  and  school,  by  the 
power  of  co-operative  enterprise,  by 
church  and  the  ministers  of  the  Christian 

6 


faith.  They  are  to  continue  to  send 
choice  youth  to  the  cities  for  replenish- 
ment and  for  leadership.  These  millions 
are  to  retain  a place  in  advancing  Ameri- 
can life  consistent  with  our  traditions 
and  our  hopes. 

The  need  of  the  church  in  all  these 
great  enterprises  of  rural  society  con- 
stitutes an  appeal.  Useless  the  wealth 
wrung  from  the  soil  unless  the  welfare 
of  the  soil  worker  be  maintained. 
Valueless  the  material  elements  of  hu- 
man life  unless  the  human  spirit  be 
enlarged.  But  vanity  and  vexation  of 
heart  are  our  farA  labors  and  plans  un- 
less the  spirit  of  service  and  of  brother- 
hood is  to  dominate.  And  shall  we  par- 
take of  God's  bounty  without  rendering 
to  him  our  fealty?  Shall  the  guardians 
of  an  ancient  faith  permit  the  Saracens 
of  materialism,  of  worldliness,  of  love  of 
money,  of  adoration  of  power,  to  cap- 
ture the  citadels  of  worship,  and  of 
praise,  and  of  loving  loyalty  to  all  that  is 
divine  and  eternal  ? These  issues  are 
real  and  they  are  vital.  Let  no  pressure 
of  appeal  from  city  slum,  from  lumber 
camp  or  mining  village,  from  immi- 


7 


grants’  need,  from  bleeding,  impover- 
ished Armenia,  from  the  newly  pulsing 
China,  or  from  the  islands  of  the  sea— 
heart-wringing  and  burning  as  these  calls 
may  be — let  none  of  these  things  blind 
us  to  the  slow-moving  but  irresistible 
tides  of  human  life  that  ebb  and  flow  in 
the  homes  and  institutions  of  our  Ameri- 
can farm  people. 

The  charms  of  the  pastor’s  life  in  the 
open  country  constitute  a call.  For  this 
cause  many  are  called  and  few  are 
chosen.  But  for  that  man  who  loves  the 
open,  whose  heart  responds  to  the  soft 
music  of  meadow  and  field,  whose  ear 
is  attuned  to  the  rhythm  of  the  seasons, 
who  feels  the  romance  of  intelligent  care 
of  soil  and  plant  and  animal — to  that 
man  the  rural  parish  offers  rewards 
beyond  all  price. 

Dear  uplands,  Chester’s  favorable  fields, 

My  large  unjealous  loves,  many  yet  one — 

A grave  good-morrow  to  your  Graces,  all, 
Fair  tilth  and  fruitful  seasons! 

Lo,  how  still ! 

The  midmorn  empties  you  of  men,  save  me; 
Speak  to  your  lover,  meadows!  None  can 
hear. 


I lie  as  lies  yon  placid  Brandywine, 

Holding  the  hills  and  heavens  in  my  heart 
For  contemplation. 

— Sidney  Lanier. 

The  opportunities  offered  by  the  coun- 
try parish  for  breadth  of  culture  con- 
stitute a call  not  usually  put  down  in  the 
list  of  reasons  for  being  a country  clergy- 
man. One  does  not  need  constant  access 
to  great  libraries  in  order  to  acquire  cul- 
ture. Culture  is  appreciation  of  environ- 
ment. It  is  a process  of  soul-ripening. 
Knowledge  is  merely  the  crude  material 
upon  which  culture  works.  Reading  is 
only  one  door  by  which  culture  enters. 
Close  observation,  meditation,  pondering 
in  the  heart,  much  thinking  are  the  fa- 
vorite tools  of  culture.  Do  you  desire 
time  to  read  in  peace?  Do  you  wish  for 
a chance  to  weigh  and  meditate?  Do 
you  like  to  stand  close  to  men  at  work? 
Do  you  want  to  know  the  secret  places  of 
the  Most  High?  Do  you  gain  wisdom 
from  the  sermons  preached  by  the  rocks, 
joy  from  the  songs  of  little  rivers,  peace 
from  the  evening  hymns  that  arise  from 
meadow  and  woodland?  Then  do  not 
hesitate  to  seek  these  things  in  the  coun- 


9 


try  parish.  From  your  rural  watch- 
tower  you,  also,  may  observe  the  swift 
march  of  affairs,  keep  alive  to  great 
movements,  see  the  drift  of  great  human 
tides.  You  may  in  the  country,  also, 
learn  to  appreciate  the  physical  and 
spiritual  environment  that  makes  for  the 
welfare  of  men  and  women,  secure  real 
personal  growth,  develop  sound  culture. 

It  is  worth  one’s  while  to  be  in  touch 
with  leaders  of  thought  and  action.  The 
stimulus  that  comes  to  the  pastor  of  a 
large  city  church  from  such  associations 
is  real  and  vital.  But  for  the  man  who 
can  detect  life’s  veneer,  who  loves  to 
examine  the  fiber  of  character,  who 
knows  human  nature,  the  country  parish 
offers  ample  chance  for  interest  and 
profit.  For,  commonly,  rural  people  are 
natural,  their  native  instincts  are  strong, 
their  tastes  are  simple,  their  speech  is 
direct.  To  him  who  likes  this  sort  of 
human  contact  the  country  parish  calls. 

The  very  presence  of  the  difficulties 
in  country  church  work  formulates  a dis- 
tinct call  to  men  who  like  to  conquer  cir- 
cumstances. The  problem  of  prosperous 
church  life  in  rural  communities  is  not 


10 


an  easy  problem.  The  successful  min- 
ister in  those  communities  cannot  enjoy 
a life  of  ease.  Vexation  of  spirit  may 
become  his  portion.  But  the  joy  of 
overcoming  an  untoward  situation  may 
also  be  his.  Some  men  will  be  attracted 
to  the  country  parish  just  because  it  is 
a hard  field. 

The  dearth  of  men  constitutes  a call. 
The  fields  are  white  for  the  harvest. 
Many  laborers  present  themselves.  But 
some  of  them  come  out  merely  for  a 
summer's  practice.  Some  have  ancient 
implements.  Some  do  not  know  wheat 
from  corn.  Relatively  few  deliberately 
mean  to  make  these  open  fields  their  life 
scene,  and  fewer  still  have  prepared 
themselves  to  harvest  the  crop  by  mod- 
ern methods.  Do  not  some  of  you  see, 
therefore,  a rare  chance  for  distinction? 
A prayer  for  well-equipped  harvesters 
is  going  up  from  all  our  country-side, 
and  we  wait  impatiently  for  the  response, 
“Here  am  I,  send  me.” 

To  those  men  who  have  the  pioneer 
spirit  there  comes  a strong  appeal  from 
the  rural  church.  For  here  is  a chance 
for  unique  work,  something  different, 


11 


and  yet  supremely  useful  as  well  as  rare. 
Who  will  be  our  explorers,  to  blaze  new 
trails  by  which  other  men  may  find  fresh 
fields  of  influence  for  advancing  the  king- 
dom? Nowhere  more  fully  than  in  the 
country  can  a clergyman  shepherd  his 
flock  by  day  and  by  night,  know  the  qual- 
ity of  their  meadows,  guard  their  water 
courses,  lead  into  new  and  sweet  pas- 
tures. The  splendid  opportunities  for 
leadership  in  the  country  parish  ought  to 
ring  in  the  hearts  of  young  men  of 
power. 

The  timeliness  of  a redirected  country 
church  work  constitutes  an  appeal. 
There  are  large  stirrings  in  all  rural 
affairs.  The  fields  are  alive  with  move- 
ments for  better  farming,  for  more  use- 
ful education,  for  co-operation.  As  never 
before,  the  country  minister  has  efficient 
allies.  The  mechanism  of  socialization 
is  busy  ; the  institutions  of  agricultural 
education  are  pulsing  with  life ; organ- 
izations are  multiplying  in  number  and 
in  power.  And  the  church  at  large  is 
stirring.  She  realizes  the  herculean  task 
before  her.  She  sees  the  signs  of  moral 
unrest.  She  observes  that  the  notes  of 


12 


idealism  are  betimes  deadened  by  the 
“wearisome  sound  of  the  scythe  of  time 
and  the  trowel  of  trade.”  The  man  who 
goes  to  the  country  parish  is  captain  in 
the  host  of  a growing  army  that  seeks  to 
command  the  country-side,  as  well  as  to 
capture  cities. 

The  final  and  the  supreme  call  from 
the  country  parish  comes  out  of  the  abid- 
ing hunger  of  men  and  women  for  reli- 
gion— religion  interpreted  in  terms  of 
daily  toil,  common  human  need,  social 
evolution,  justice,  and  fraternity.  In 
country  as  well  as  in  city,  many  men  and 
many  women  are  engaged — often  unwit- 
tingly or  even  unwillingly  engaged — in 
the  sad  business  of  living  outside  the 
pale  of  religious  idealism,  seeking  to  ex- 
plain life  on  grounds  of  expediency,  try- 
ing to  find  easy  delight  for  the  senses, 
expending  toil  and  enduring  sweat  for 
that  which  is  not  bread.  But  all  of  them 
know,  in  their  best  moments,  that  under- 
neath are  the  Everlasting  Arms.  Can 
we,  then,  afford  to  neglect  half  of  our 
countrymen  in  our  efforts  to  reach  men 
effectively  with  the  new  evangel?  Shall 
all  these  rising  tides  of  life  in  our  rural 


13 


regions  be  left  to  break  upon  the  futile 
shores  of  economic  gain  and  personal 
pleasure?  Is  it  a small  and  mean  task  to 
maintain  and  enlarge  in  the  country  both 
individual  and  community  ideals,  under 
the  inspiration  and  guidance  of  the  reli- 
gious motive,  and  to  help  forty  millions 
of  rural  people  to  incarnate  those  ideals 
in  personal  and  family  life,  in  industrial 
effort  and  political  development,  and  in 
all  social  relationships? 

A Great  Country  Minister 

In  all  the  days  of  the  church  men  have 
been  found  who  illustrated  in  their  own 
lives  the  opportunities  that  lie  before  the 
clergyman  in  the  country  parish.  At 
this  moment  there  are  men,  in  all  parts 
of  our  own  land,  who  see  this  new  call  of 
the  country  parish  and  are  responding 
intelligently  and  gallantly.  But  one  name 
gives  us  entrance  into  such  a wealth  of 
inspiration  and  suggestion  that  we  must 
pause  to  review  the  work  and  method 
of  the  man.  You  doubtless  know  the 
story  full  well,  but  it  may  not  be  omitted 
here. 


14 


About  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth 
century,  John  Frederick  Oberlin,  Bache- 
lor of  Arts  and  Doctor  of  Philosophy  of 
a great  university,  masterful  student  and 
courageous  leader,  declared  that  he  did 
“not  wish  to  labor  in  some  comfortable 
pastoral  charge/’  where  he  could  be  at 
ease;  but  the  question  is,  “Where  can  I 
be  most  useful?”  God  answered  his 
prayer,  and  at  the  age  of  twenty-seven 
this  man,  who  might  have  had  a power- 
ful church  in  a great  center,  entered  upon 
his  life  task,  under  the  most  forbidding 
conditions,  in  the  Ban-de-la-Roche, 
among  the  “blue  Alsatian  mountains.” 
It  was  a region  with 

six  months  of  winter;  at  times  the  cold  of  the 
shores  of  the  Baltic;  a wind  like  ice  sometimes 
comes  down  from  the  mountain  tops  . . . . ; 
the  sick  and  dying  are  to  be  visited  in  remote, 
wild,  solitary  places  among  the  forests. 

This  little  parish,  set  high  in  the 
rugged  Vosges,  consisted  of  not  over  one 
hundred  families  at  the  time  Oberlin 
came  to  it.  The  region  had  for  centuries 
been  the  football  of  war,  its  fields  had 
been  harried,  its  manhood  drained  for 
martial  conflict. 


15 


In  all  this  time  it  had  been  a battle  for  sheer 
existence.  In  the  short  summer  season  the 
people  gathered  barely  enough  food  to  sustain 
their  impoverished  life  through  the  long  win- 
ter, only  to  renew  the  struggle  when  the  snows 
melted.  With  no  trades  and  without  indus- 
tries other  than  the  rudest  agriculture,  and 
with  no  intelligent  cultivation  of  the  soil  for 
this,  their  roads  mere  by-paths,  their  streams 
without  bridges,  their  food  scanty  and  coarse, 
what  could  be  looked  for  but  hopeless  and 
hapless  lives?* 

The  people  were  taxed  far  beyond 
their  power  to  pay.  Their  poverty  was 
beyond  description.  They  were  prac- 
tically slaves.  They  had  no  schools,  and 
were  ignorant  to  a degree.  Physical 
misery  and  moral  degradation  were 
wedded. 

Note  the  picture  of  the  same  parish  a 
half-century  later,  near  the  close  of  this 
historic  pastorate.  The  hills  and  valleys 
of  the  Ban-de-la-Roche  had  become  fer- 
tile and  fruitful.  Everywhere  there 
were  evidences  of  a prosperous  agricul- 
ture. Every  acre  was  well  tilled.  Each 

* For  the  facts  of  Oberlin’s  life  and  the  quotations 
here  given  the  author  is  indebted  to  Professor  A.  F. 
Beard  of  Oberlin  College,  who  in  his  recent  “Story  of 
John  Frederick  Oberlin”  has  written  a book  that  should 
be  read  and  pondered  by  every  country  clergyman  in 
America. 


16 


homestead  had  its  orchards  and  flower 
gardens.  Splendid  mountain  roads  and 
substantial  bridges  gave  access  to  the 
great  world  beyond  the  hills.  Schools 
flourished,  schools  in  which  the  peda- 
gogy of  Pestalozzi  and  Froebel  was  ante- 
dated ; schools  in  which  were  taught 
nature  study,  agriculture,  civics,  aesthet- 
ics. A local  improvement  society  con- 
cerned itself  with  developing  the  beauty 
about  home  and  farmstead.  An  agri- 
cultural club  flourished.  A well-ordered 
system  of  irrigation  had  been  installed. 
Peace  and  plenty  reigned  supreme. 
Thrift  marked  the  labors  and  savings, 
intelligence  directed  the  industry  of  all. 
Simple  but  charming  houses  covered  a 
beautiful  family  life.  Religion  served  to 
bind  men  and  women  to  their  fellows 
and  to  their  God. 

The  recognized  genius  in  all  this  trans- 
formation was  Pastor  Oberlin.  In  Ober- 
lin’s  closing  years,  the  king  of  France 
conferred  upon  him  the  medal  of  the 
Legion  of  Honor,  for  his  many  efforts 
which  had  resulted  in  making  the  district 
“flourishing  and  happy.”  The  National 
Agricultural  Society  decreed  him  a gold 


17 


medal  for  “prodigies  accomplished  in 
silence  in  this  almost  unknown  corner  of 
the  Vosges,  ....  in  a district  before 
his  arrival  almost  savage,”  and  into 
which  he  had  brought  “the  best  methods 
of  agriculture  and  the  purest  lights  of 
civilization.”  An  English  lady,  visiting 
the  region  in  1820,  writes:  “The  poor 
charm  me.  I have  never  met  with  any 
like  them ; so  much  humility,  spirituality, 
and  with  manners  that  would  do  honor 
to  a court. ” It  was  all  Oberlin’s  work. 

By  what  miracle  was  this  transforma- 
tion wrought?  By  preaching?  Yes; 
Oberlin  never  failed  to  prepare  his  ser- 
mons with  the  greatest  care.  He  was  a 
reader  of  science,  of  history,  of  philo- 
sophy. Even  in  his  mountain  eyrie  he 
kept  in  touch  with  the  world’s  thought. 
But  was  it  by  reading,  and  study,  and 
faithful  preaching  alone  that  the  change 
came  ? Listen ! 

Oberlin  secured  the  first  schoolhouse 
by  promising  that  it  should  cost  the  peo- 
ple nothing.  As  a matter  of  fact,  he  paid 
a substantial  share  of  the  cost  of  two 
schoolhouses  out  of  the  savings  of  a 
salary  of  $200  a year.  He  shouldered  a 


18 


pick  and  led  the  work  of  building  the 
first  highway  and  bridging  the  mountain 
stream.  He  proved  that  horticulture  was 
practicable  in  the  region  by  himself 
planting  successful  orchards.  He  intro- 
duced new  varieties  and  new  crops.  He 
organized  societies  and  clubs.  He  taught 
manners  and  morals.  He  planned  and 
directed  the  school  work  in  every  detail. 
In  the  beginning  all  of  these  efforts  were 
opposed  most  vigorously.  Some  even 
tried  to  intimidate  him.  He  carried  every 
reform  against  severe  opposition.  He 
helped  the  people  in  spite  of  themselves. 
But  in  all  his  efforts  he  kept  the  religious 
element  to  the  fore.  All  things  were  to 
be  done  for  God  as  well  as  for  oneself. 
He  himself,  while  practical  in  the  ex- 
treme, was  also  spiritual  to  the  verge  of 
mysticism. 

Rural  parishes  in  America  that  present 
the  woeful  conditions  of  the  Ban-de-la- 
Roche  in  1767  may  not  be  common, 
though  of  that  let  us  not  be  too  sure. 
The  same  underground  work  that  Ober- 
lin  did  may  not  need  doing  by  every 
rural  clergyman.  Schools  are  busy  in 
every  parish.  Forces  of  socialization 


19 


and  co-operation  are  at  work.  The 
means  of  agricultural  training  are  at 
hand.  Yet  the  underlying  philosophy  of 
Oberlin’s  life  work  must  be  the  funda- 
mental principle  of  the  great  country 
parish  work  of  the  future.  Oberlin  be- 
lieved in  the  unity  of  life,  the  marriage 
of  labor  and  living.  He  knew  that  social 
justice,  intelligent  toil,  happy  environ- 
ment are  bound  up  with  the  growth  of 
the  spirit.  They  act  and  react  upon  one 
another. 

More  than  a century  ago,  in  an  ob- 
scure parish  among  the  mountains  of 
Alsatia  a great  man  labored  for  a life- 
time as  a country  minister.  He  knew  all 
the  souls  in  his  charge  to  their  core.  He 
loved  them  passionately.  He  refused  to 
leave  them  for  greater  reward  and  easier 
work.  He  loved  their  fields  and  their 
mountains.  He  studied  their  problems. 
He  toiled  for  his  people  incessantly.  He 
transformed  their  industry  and  he  regen- 
erated their  lives.  He  built  a new  and 
permanent  rural  civilization  that  endures 
to  this  day  unspoiled.  The  parishes 
about  the  little  village  of  Waldersbach, 
nestled  among  the  Vosges  Mountains, 


20 


thus  became  a laboratory  in  which  the 
call  of  the  country  parish  met  a deep 
answer  of  success  and  of  peace. 

A Present  Crisis 

There  is  a new  interest  in  American 
country  life.  The  love  of  the  out-of- 
doors  is  growing.  Business  men  are 
recognizing  afresh  the  fundamental  eco- 
nomic character  of  the  agricultural 
industry.  The  solidarity  of  city  and  ^ 
country  is  seen  concretely.  The  unity  of 
national  life  is  found  to  consist  in  devel- 
oping both  urban  and  rural  civilization. 
Great  movements  are  under  way,  de- 
signed to  increase  the  yield  of  the  soil, 
to  put  agriculture  on  a better  business 
basis,  to  educate  rural  youth,  to  secure 
co-operative  effort  among  farmers.  Is 
the  church  also  astir  in  rural  places? 
The  country  church  has  been  a saving 
salt  in  the  development  of  our  great 
farming  areas ; is  she  alive  today  to  these 
new  movements?  Is  she  leading  in  the 
campaign  for  rural  progress? 

The  most  ardent  friend  of  the  coun- 
try church  must  give  a sorrowful  “No” 


21 


in  reply  to  these  questions.  While  many 
individual  churches  are  doing  splendid 
work,  the  country  church  as  an  institu- 
tion is  not  awake  to  her  task.  She  has 
not  realized  that  wonderful  changes  are 
taking  place.  Science  applied  to  farming 
is  working  a revolution  in  rural  life  as 
well  as  in  rural  industry.  We  are  enter- 
ing upon  a new  era  in  American  agricul- 
tural history.  But  unless  the  church 
arouses  herself,  her  peculiar  work  among 
country  folk  will  not  be  done. 

The  present  situation  then  is  nothing 
less  than  critical.  It  is  vital  that  the  new 
country  life  movements  be  given  a reli- 
gious content.  The  leadership  of  the 
country  church  is  imperative,  if  the  new 
streams  are  to  flow  in  the  channels  of 
idealism.  Let  the  church  assert  its  lead- 
ership at  once.  Let  it  set  the  pace  for 
rural  progress  and  determine  its  great 
issues.  There  is  no  time  to  be  lost.  The 
floods  are  rising.  The  day  is  at  hand. 

What  Shall  Be  Done 

What  shall  we  do  to  arouse  the  coun- 
try church,  to  give  it  its  rightful  place 


22 


among  the  forces  at  work  for  solving  the 
rural  problem? 

We  must  ask  men  to  consecrate  them- 
selves to  life-long  service  in  the  country 
parish.  The  country  church  needs  men 
who  believe  that  here  is  a great  task, 
worthy  of  high  devotion,  thorough  prep- 
aration, intelligent  study,  patient  contin- 
uance in  well-doing. 

We  must  root  out  the  idea  that  only 
inferior  men  can  find  a permanent  work 
in  the  country  parish.  It  needs  our 
strongest  and  best  men,  particularly  in 
these  critical,  formative  days  of  a new 
program  for  the  country  church.  The 
issues  at  stake  merit  the  leadership  of 
great  men.  Let  us  do  away  with  even 
the  secret  thought  that  a brilliant  theo- 
logue  has  “buried  himself”  in  some  ob- 
scure farming  community.  It  is  his  own 
fault  if  he  remain  buried.  The  seeds  of 
the  nev^  rural  religious  life  may  be  sown 
in  corruption,  in  dishonor,  in  weakness ; 
but,  please  God,  they  shall  bear  fruit  in 
incorruption,  in  glory,  and  in  power.  We 
have  a right  to  ask  strong  men  to  put 
their  hands  to  this  plow  and  not  to  turn 
back. 


23 


We  must  go  out  to  the  men  now  toil- 
ing in  the  rural  parishes,  with  a message 
of  cheer,  of  co-operation,  of  encourage- 
ment. They  are  a noble  band.  They 
need  our  aid.  Let  us  help  them  to  grip 
the  new  sources  of  power,  to  assume  a 
new  leadership,  to  work  together  for 
larger  ends. 

We  must  appeal  to  the  seminaries,  and 
other  training  schools  for  preachers,  to 
send  forth  men  who  have  formed  a well- 
grounded  ambition  to  explore  the  re- 
sources of  this  great  field  and  who  have 
qualified  themselves  for  the  task — who 
are  well  armored  for  the  campaign. 

We  must  go  to  the  colleges,  and  appeal 
to  strong  young  men  who  want  hard 
places,  who  love  to  take  chances,  who 
have  withal  the  desire  to  serve  their 
fellows  mightily.  We  must  persuade 
them  that  here  is  work  that  is  epoch- 
making,  a man’s  work,  work*  worth 
while. 

We  must  appeal  to  the  heroic  in  young 
men.  Let  us  not  try  to  show  that  the 
country  parish  is  a garden  of  delight,  a 
place  of  rest  and  ease.  Rather  let  its 
difficulties  and  puzzling  problems  con- 


24 


stitute  a clarion-call  to  the  men  of  heroic 
mold.  Our  fathers  met  every  hard  issue 
in  the  heroic  spirit.  They  dared  the 
wilds  of  an  unexplored  continent  to 
establish  a new  kingdom  of  God.  They 
carried  the  banner  of  the  church  across 
sea  and  land  and  planted  it  among  sav- 
ages. They  kept  the  church  in  the  van 
of  the  army  of  conquest  that  has  sub- 
dued our  western  forest  and  prairie. 
Have  their  sons  poorer  vision,  smaller 
courage,  weaker  wills?  We  may  not 
believe  it.  But  we  must  show  them  that 
here  is  really  a man’s  work,  that  some- 
thing vital  is  at  stake.  We  must  appeal 
to  high  motives,  expect  large  sacrifices. 

The  critical  need  just  now  is  for  a few 
strong  men  of  large  power  to  get  hold 
of  this  country  church  question  in  a 
virile  way.  It  is  the  time  for  leadership. 
We  need  a score  of  Oberlins  to  point  the 
way  by  actually  working  out  the  prob- 
lem on  the  field.  It  is  well  enough  to 
discuss  the  problem  in  its  theoretical 
aspects.  It  is  desirable  to  organize  large 
movements  on  behalf  of  the  rural  church. 
But  more  than  all  else  just  now,  we  need 
a few  men  to  achieve  great  results  in 


25 


the  rural  parish,  to  re-establish  the  lead- 
ership of  the  church.  No  organization 
can  do  it.  No  layman  can  do  it.  No 
educational  institution  can  do  it.  A 
preacher  must  do  it — do  it  in  spite  of 
small  salary,  isolation,  conservatism,  re- 
stricted field,  overchurching,  or  any 
other  devil  that  shows  its  face.  The  call 
is  imperative.  Shall  we  be  denied  the 
men? 

While  we  must  demand  men,  single- 
handed  and  alone,  to  meet  this  call  of 
the  country  parish,  there  are  two  power- 
ful allies  that  we  may  ask  to  our  aid. 
There  is  always  stimulus  in  a common 
purpose.  Is  not  the  time  ripe  for  a new 
“rural  band” — a group  of  half  a dozen 
men  from  the  seminary,  who  find  adja- 
cent parishes  in  a rural  region,  and 
there,  quietly,  co-operatively,  persistently, 
grimly,  study  the  situation,  take  leader- 
ship in  all  community  life,  incite  the  aid 
of  school  and  Grange,  stir  lay  support, 
carry  on  a great  campaign  for  better 
individual  and  community  life,  and  do 
all  under  the  inspiration  and  guidance 
of  the  religious  motive?  A plan  of  this 
sort,  carefully  considered,  discreetly 


26 


managed,  patiently  developed,  would 
form  the  nucleus  for  a new  country 
church.  It  needs  doing.  It  can  be  done. 
Are  there  men  who  will  do  it? 

The  time  is  ripe  also  for  an  organized 
movement  on  behalf  of  the  country  par- 
ish, that  shall  give  dignity  and  direction 
to  the  efforts  of  solitary  workers.  The 
country  parish  is  a peculiar  field.  New 
methods  are  needed.  Men  must  be 
aroused  from  lethargy.  A powerful  co- 
operative enterprise  must  set  standards, 
educate  men,  co-ordinate  effort. 

The  country  church  is  indeed  calling 
for  men.  The  prosperous  churches  in 
rich  farming  regions  need  strong  leaders 
to  direct  the  forces  of  progress  and  to 
lead  men  to  the  waters  of  life.  The  little 
white  meeting-house  on  the  abandoned 
New  England  hillside  holds  out  its  arms 
in  mute  appeal  for  men  to  bring  new  life. 
From  the  cotton  fields  and  mountains  of 
the  Southland,  from  the  prairies  of  the 
central  valleys,  from  the  transformed 
deserts  of  the  West,  comes  this  call  for 
men  to  serve  the  country  parish. 

Let  not  our  eyes  be  blind  to  these  deep 
needs  of  our  rural  life,  nor  our  ears  deaf 


27 


to  the  call  of  the  country  parish.  The 
time  for  a great  work  is  at  hand.  The 
country  church  is  facing  a “present 
crisis” ; therefore  let  us  remember  that 

New  occasions  teach  new  duties;  Time 
makes  ancient  good  uncouth; 

They  must  upward  still,  and  onward, 
who  would  keep  abreast  of  Truth; 

Lo,  before  us  gleam  her  camp-fires!  We 
ourselves  must  Pilgrims  be, 

Launch  our  Mayflower,  and  steer  boldly 
through  the  desperate  winter  sea, 

Nor  attempt  the  Future's  portal  with 
the  Past’s  blood-rusted  key. 


28 


